As teachers, it's imperative for us to be able to recognize these barriers, not only in ourselves, but in those with whom we have stewardship, our students. They both perpetuate and are victims of these barriers. We see it every day in classroom and playground behavior, those who bully and ignore, and those who are bullied and isolated. Here is our chance to step in, engage and teach how both can bring down the barriers and improve relationships.
Static evaluation is a barrier influenced by the notion that people don't change. This is subtly dangerous. Ask any parent who failed to see changes in their drug-addicted child, or the teacher who overlooked subtle tells of escalating violent behavior.
The cure is observation and recognizing that everybody changes and are capable of change outside of expected social and cultural contexts.
No comments:
Post a Comment